Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud has revealed what Arsene Wenger told him before he came on and scored a late equaliser against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Wenger sent on the France international and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after the Gunners had gone behind to Juan Mata’s opener.
The two substituted combined beautifully in the 89th minute, Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross headed home at the far post by Giroud to rescue a point.
Speaking after the game Giroud has revealed the instruction he received from his manager with the Gunners staring a first defeat since the opening day in the face.
“Just to give the maximum. Try to bring your small cog to the big machine. Defend from set-pieces and try to run and make my team-mates play,” he told the official Arsenal website.
“I try to give solutions to my team-mates because at the end of the game we were a bit tired, so just to try to bring something different, in the air especially as well.
“We are very happy with this draw and this point and now we want to focus on the Champions League game on Wednesday.”
Giroud also admitted he was delighted to score and says the team showed their character to come from behind and take something from the game.
“It’s nice to score when you come off the bench. We always try to bring something when we come on in a game,” he added. “So it was the fact today. Chambo crossed the ball and I knew he was going to cross to the second post, so I tried to stay there. I come as quick as I can to smash the ball and yeah, lucky me. It’s nice for the team, it’s a good point because we conceded and had tough chances to score.
“It’s a good momentum. Even if we wanted to win today, the scenario of the game was a bit hard for us. We conceded the first goal so it’s nice to show a strong character and to come back. We didn’t lose so let’s carry on this good run. But we need to take the three points at home now, to make this point better.”
Wenger’s substitutions worked out perfectly with both players involved in the goal and while the result will have felt almost like a win, with the equaliser coming so late, the performance certainly left room for improvement.